Sozadee Archives

Sozadeeis a state of mind. It was discovered (or founded) many years ago on a hot August afternoon's sail out of Newport Beach. There was no wind (at least any stronger than the current) and a burning, glaring sun. The limp sails afforded no shade. All aboard knew the outboard was questionable. The ice on the beer was melting and discussion was skirting the issue of sunstroke. Suddenly, the word "Sozadee" was uttered, the breeze returned, and all was well.

Tuesday, July 08, 2008

The Occupation and the Insurgency It Spawns

It's a brutalizing fact of life for Iraqis; but it's sanitized for my fellow Americans.

The sights and scents of violent human death is commonplace for Iraqis. Here is a photo of Shia caskets in the wake of a recent USA-assisted offensive against the Sadrists.

But when three U.S. Marines are killed in action and their bodies are captured on film by an embedded photographer, he is suspended from his embed and taken back to the Green Zone.

Here is Zoriah's story. And here are Zoriah's photos. Here are Zoriah's words:

I want you to observe and comprehend what others live through on a daily basis -- to see what the Iraqi civilians and foreign soldiers see. I want people who follow my photography to understand that although I am able to bring images of waroccupation to the world in a form of art, what actually goes on here is horror. My message is not that war yields great photography. My message is: waroccupation yields human misery and suffering.

..... If you are offended by graphic images -- instead of reading the entry about the suicide attack linked to below and being upset by the sight of death -- please do something to stop the political situations and foreign policy that facilitate these atrocities.

Bush, Cheney and McCain pretend that our occupation of Iraq is as sanitary and tranquil as in our post-war status-of-forces agreements in Germany, Japan, and Korea.

Zoriah's photography puts the lie to that mythology. A picture is worth a thousand words.